Things couldn’t have fallen much better for the Hawkeyes on Saturday. When all was said and done at the end of the day, it appeared they will now make a New Year’s Day bowl, facing a very un-SEC-like South Carolina team in the Outback Bowl in Tampa.

They key, of course, was Oregon blasting Oregon State 65-38, which likely knocked the Beavers out of the Rose Bowl and began a domino effect that moved the Hawks up to Tampa. Oregon State could still make the Rose Bowl if USC loses to UCLA next Saturday, but I wouldn’t count on that happening.

Meanwhile, South Carolina lost to Clemson and looked bad doing it. The Gamecocks fell to 7-5 with that loss, but still figure to be the fifth choice from the SEC (behind Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi), which puts them in Outback. I watched some of that Clemson-South Carolina game on television and the Gamecocks didn’t appear to be as fast and athletic as SEC teams often are. It looks like a very favorable matchup for the Hawks.

Of course, none of these bowl selections will become official until next Sunday but at this point, it looks good for Iowa.

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